IPFW School of Education 2005 Accreditation Site

IPFW School of Education 2005 Accreditation Site

Welcome!National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE)Indiana Department of Education/Division of Professional Standards (IDOE/DPS)

September 6, 2005

Welcome NCATE Board of Examiners Team!

The Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne (IPFW) School of Education (SOE) is accredited by the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE), 2010 Massachusetts Ave., NW, Suite 500, Washington, DC, 20036, phone (202) 466-7496. This NCATE Focused Visit, November 6-8, 2005, covers Standard 2, Assessment System and Unit Evaluation, for our Advanced Programs: School Counseling, Educational Leadership, and Elementary and Secondary Education.

School of Education faculty, staff, and stakeholders in our larger educational community have worked together to prepare for this visit. We have been guided by the SOE Mission Statement and Conceptual Framework, which follow below.

We invite you to assess the case we have presented here, in which we have tried to show that our assessment system and unit evaluation of our Advanced Programs meet the criteria of Standard 2: Assessment System; Data Collection, Analysis, and Evaluation; and Use of Data for Program Improvement. The program revision, and assessment system building and implementing, that we have accomplished in the past two years, since our 2003 NCATE Visit, have united us as a school, improved our programs, and allowed us to better prepare the educational professionals whom we serve. We trust that will mean that K-12 students will be better prepared to meet the imposing educational challenges of the 21st Century.

We look forward to working with you. Our understanding of assessment has grown through the preparation for this visit, as has our understanding of the use of technology to present our case to you. As a school we feel, thereby, better prepared, ourselves, to meet the educational challenges of the 21st Century.

To prepare professionals in teaching, counseling and leadership who demonstrate the capacity and willingness to continuously improve schools and related entities so that they become more effective with their clients by:

Elementary and Secondary - scholar-practitioner learning communities for engaging in a democratic and diverse society.

IPFW School of Education Conceptual Framework

A Learning and Leadership Model

We in the School of Education are committed to the following conceptual framework for our programs:

1. Democracy & Community

Effective educators (1), such as teachers, counselors, and administrators need to be part of a dynamic educational community as a model for the climate of community they hope to create. To do this, these educators need an understanding of the moral, cultural, social, political, and economic foundations of our society. Consequently, the SOE should foster a democratic, just, inclusive learning community among its students, faculty, and staff, and with all other stakeholders in the educational enterprise.

2. Habits of Mind

Effective educators realize that knowledge alone is not sufficient. They practice critical reflection in all endeavors. Within the context of a compassionate, caring community, educators foster habits of mind necessary to engage learners, such as investigating, inquiring, challenging, critiquing, questioning, and evaluating. Consequently, the SOE must integrate critical habits of mind in all aspects of the teaching/learning process.

3. Pedagogy

Effective educators need to understand multiple approaches to pedagogy as well as the multiple roles of the teacher, such as facilitator, guide, role model, scholar, and motivator. Educators appreciate and are receptive to the diverse perspectives, modes of understanding, and social circumstances that they and their students bring to the educational setting. Consequently, the SOE needs to prepare educators to understand and use pedagogy creatively and thereby ensure active learning, conceptual understanding, and meaningful growth.

4. Knowledge

Effective educators need to be well-grounded in the content which they expect to teach. Educators need to understand how knowledge is constructed, how the processes of inquiry are applied, how domains of knowledge are established, how disciplines can be integrated and most effectively communicated to their students. Educators also need understanding of themselves, of communities in which they intend to teach, and of students. Consequently, the SOE should immerse educators in nurturing learning communities that deepen knowledge, and encourage ongoing intellectual, emotional, and personal growth.

5. Experience

Effective educators learn their craft through experiences in actual educational settings. Through onsite campus activities and field-based experiences students will observe and emulate exemplary teaching and learning. These educators will practice, collaborate, and interact with practitioners and their students. Consequently, the SOE must integrate field and/or clinical experiences that reflect the diversity of educators, students, and schools into all aspects of the curriculum, and help educators to assess and reflect on those experiences.

6. Leadership

Effective educators are leaders. They have developed educational and social visions informed by historical and cultural perspectives. They strive to set the highest goals for themselves and inspire students to do likewise. Educators are enriched by the convergence of knowledge, theory, and practice as they optimistically face the educational challenges of the twenty-first century. Consequently, the SOE must provide opportunities for educators to develop as leaders in their profession and in their communities.

(1) Educator is broadly defined as pre-service and in-service teachers, administrators, and counselors.